Horse Buyers Guide
Questions to Ask the Seller About the Horse
Here are a few questions that you should ask the seller of any horse you might be interested in.
What is the horse’s age, breed and color?
What kind of a disposition does the horse have?
Does the horse have any vices?
How is the horse’s health?
Ask if there are guarantees offered by the seller.
Is the horse registered and has it been DNA tested?
What type of training has the horse had and how much?
This will determine what set of aids or cues the horse will respond to. Horses trained for Western disciplines will respond to use of an indirect rein (commonly referred to as neck-reining) and direct seat and leg aids, in which the horse moves away from pressure from the leg.
If the horse has been trained for English riding, he will respond to a direct rein (using the left rein to guide left, etc.) and an indirect leg, in which the horse bends into the leg pressure. If the horse has little or no professional training the value of the horse will usually be less.
If you are a novice or beginner rider it may not be safe getting on a horse that has maybe 30-90 days of under saddle training. Horses trained by a professional will respond more reliably to proper aids and be easier to control.
However, horses without any professional training that have been used for years can be ridden as long as the rider has some idea how the previous rider controlled the horse. These horses may be appropriate for someone only wanting to trail ride as long as the horse has a mild temperament. Any horse can be trained to a more refined level with the help of a professional.
If the horse has professional training, ask for the name and contact information of the trainer so you can ask questions about how the horse responded to the training. Be sure to ask how long the horse was trained, what methods were used and how the horse responded. The trainer should also be able to tell you about the horse’s temperament and any bad habits they observed.
What discipline is the horse best suited for?
Confirmation, or the way the horse’s body is built, usually will have the greatest effect on how a horse moves in its gates for walk, trot, and canter.
How the horse moves will generally indicate what disciplines the horse is best suited for. For example, taller horses that like to move forward and reach out in longer, more flowing strides are considered more suitable for English style riding. Shorter striding horses that prefer to move slower may be better suited for Western style riding.
Each individual horse will have a talent and often a preference for certain skills such as jumping or cattle work and there are no hard and fast rules about which breeds should be used in any given discipline. There are even some exceptional horses that do multiple disciplines in both English and Western styles.
If you are a novice rider it is a good idea to find out what a horse has been trained to do and how well he does it. Try to match your knowledge to the horse’s training level so you can learn together, perform well together and enjoy being partners.
